Chapters 1 and 2 Study Guide: The Constitution Key Terms: 1. Political Gridlock: Definition: When there is difficulty passing legislation or resolving issues due to opposing factions with differing interests. Current Event: Currently, President Obama, a Democrat, is experiencing significant political gridlock due to the Republican majority in Congress. The divisions between the factions prevent the passage of legislation. In fact, there was a government shutdown since there were many disputes over the Affordable Care Act. 2. Republic/Indirect Democracy: Definition: A form of democracy in which representatives are elected by the people to represent them and their interests in government matters. Current Event: In 2016, the California Senate …show more content…
New Jersey Plan: Definition: A plan proposed by William Paterson of New Jersey at the Constitutional Convention that advocated equal state representation in the legislative body of government. Current Event: The New Jersey Plan is present today in the Senate, since each state has equal representation in the Senate which was the central idea of the New Jersey Plan. 9. The Colonial Mind: Definition: The colonists despised the king of England, as they believed he abused his power and denied them natural rights because of their lack of representation in Parliament. Their issues with the rule of the English were primary motivators for many of the laws outlined in the Constitution. Current Event: The colonial mindset affected the creation of the Constitution, and the laws that ensured that natural rights would always be protected are still in effect today and heavily protected. Theft is protected against, ensuring the natural right to property, and freedoms are guarded with the Constitution. 10. Articles of Confederation: Definition: The initial document that was created after the Revolutionary War that created a weak central government and did not truly unify the colonies. It was replaced by the …show more content…
Current Event: The Federalist Papers were an effort to support the Constitution, which is the central document of our government today. The papers are now used to understand the Constitution and examine the aims of the framers. 12. Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause): Definition: According to the Constitution, Congress has the ability to create any laws necessary for the execution of the enumerate powers, or powers specifically outlined in the Constitution. Current Event: Conscription is not an enumerated power for the legislative branch in the Constitution, but in the Vietnam War, it was justified through the elastic clause as Congress declared it necessary and proper to execute the enumerated powers. 13. 3/5ths Compromise: Definition: For representation in the House of Representatives, since slaves were considered property by slave states, but those same states wanted more representation in Congress, a compromise was reached where each slave would be counted as 3/5 of a
The New Jersey Plan which is also known as the small-state plan was a plan drafted by William Paterson. The New Jersey plan was drafted because the some of the smaller states didn’t agree
what is this thing called Congressional Gridlock? My complete understanding of Congressional gridlock it is when government officials can’t compromise to pass laws. Gridlock happens when the government is mostly divided. Congressional Gridlock is when republicans and democratic branches are not unified. If the house has a majority of republicans and they pass a bill, and the president which is democratic he can decide to veto the bill.
In the late 1700’s, it was America’s goal to create a republic that had a representative government that was based upon the approval of the people. Unfortunately, the people feared a strong central government because of the previous trouble the colonies had when they were ruled by Britain. They were always being unfairly taxed and had very few rights. In order to avoid this, a very weak government was developed that seemed to satisfy the people, but would not satisfy the well being of the country. It wasn’t until Shay’s rebellion which brought light to the fact that the Articles of Confederation were not going to cut it, so the Constitutional Convention was created and convened to find an alternative solution which was the creation of the Constitution.
The Articles of Confederation was the first written constitution of the United States which was took place right after Declaration of Independence. Representatives from all thirteen states of America came together to write a paper called" The Article of Confederation of the United States of America." Every state had its own rights to have their own supreme power and to govern, limit to the rights of granted to Congress. All the thirteen states agreed to defend each other with having a good and prosper partnership.
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States history. It was a consent among the 13 states of United States during the war of independence in 1776 where the Congress created a council to outline a document which was approved by it and was sent to the states for confirmation. After being approved by all the 13 states, the article of confederation came into action on March 1, 1781. All the power of the national government was centered in the Congress. The article was unicameral where each state had a single legislative body.
Congressional Gridlock In the United States, political gridlock has become very common where everyone knows and talks about it but does nothing about it. In fact, the Congress has had various limitations while passing bills or solving problems that are of key concern to the American society. A political or congressional gridlock stands for a divided government, a congress that spearheads different ideas on a certain issue hence becoming hard to agree on a particular solution. In fact, since the early years, it is notable that the government has always been run by various parties, where politicians from the different parties control the executive and legislative branches of the national government.
The Great Compromise which was founded at the Constitutional Convention wasn't formed without trouble. Many of the delegates that participated in the convention were wealthy landowners and lawyers, who owned many slaves. They failed to notice the diversity that excited within the nation. As they talked how to repair the Articles of Confederation, issues would arise that would create continuous debates amongst each other. One of the issues that would arise would be the nature of the new government.
The Constitutional Convention was arranged for the “purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation” (208). As a result, it was concluded that the power of this great nation should fall in the hands of a “direct authority” rather than within each state (209). Additionally, the national government must provide the Constitution as the representation of the people’s voice and their rights. Consequently, the New Jersey plan became in effect in which equal representation amongst the states in a “unicameral (one-house)” (210).
One of the compromises made in the Constitutional Convention is the three-fifths compromise. In this compromise, the southerners wanted to add slaves to the population of the state they lived in. If slaves were included in their state’s population, that state would be able to add more representatives in the House of Representatives. Northerners did not agree with that statement because slaves did not have the right to vote. After the delegates compromised, they agreed that only three-fifths of the slave’s population would be counted into the state’s population.
The Articles of Confederation were a document seen as the “first” constitution of the United States. This document granted the new national government power to control the military, declare war, and create treaties between the states. However, the Articles had holes in it considering the government did not have the power to tax, create laws without at least nine states’ approval, or change the Articles of Confederation without a unanimous vote. This means that the country soon fell into debt and petty arguments between state, the new government had no control. It was time for a change.
The Articles of the Confederation was the first form of government created by the Continental Congress, which developed an alliance between the thirteen states. Congress was a single-chamber legislature which allowed for each state to possess the same amount of authority no matter the size of the community. The Constitution
Enumerated powers, also referred to as expressed powers, are rules or powers given to the government. The enumerated powers are a list of things the government is authorized or allowed to do. The enumerated powers of the government are directly listed in the United States Constitution. The beginning talks about the specific powers the three branches can have such as what they can do and what they should look like and be like. Some examples of enumerated powers include taxing, regulating commerce with other nations, declaring war, creating post offices, and providing a Navy.
What is Gridlock and why should we care about it? According to Political Dictionary’s Gridlock, “gridlock is a situation in which the government is unable to pass new legislation, often because the presidency and the Congress are controlled by different political parties.” Congressional Gridlock is a recurring issue in America’s political system. It is crippling the efficacy of the government's ability to lead the country to prosperity. Currently, most of the House of Representatives is republican, and the President is democratic.
The Articles of Confederation was an agreement among the thirteen original states of the United States that served as the first constitution. The Articles had first been introduced by Richard Henry Lee in the Second Continental Congress. Although the Articles of Confederation has made its contributions throughout history, the Articles, however, did not last very long and had been proven inadequate from the very start. I agree with this statement based on the examples and analysis of the Constitution I will soon provide. The Articles of Confederation were written during a time when the American people feared a strong national government.
The Articles of the Confederation was the first government constitution that the United States used, and, although there were strength like the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, there were major weaknesses of the Articles of the Confederation like the following: requiring 9 out of the 13 colonial votes from the representatives from different states to pass a law; having no executive and judicial branch; and the federal government being unable to impose tax revenue onto the states. Such flaws would eventually lead to the Constitution and the repeal of the articles, for the Constitution was a measure to fix the problems of the articles with a stronger government that allowed them to impose taxes and and implement new laws for a more effective government.